The Art of Making Layer Cakes: Proper Construction of Bituminous Roads and Highways

The Art of Making Layer Cakes: Proper Construction of Bituminous Roads and Highways
English

Instructors

Dr Norhidayah Abdul Hassan
Dr Mariyana Aida Ab. Kadir

Faculty of Civil Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Dr Sarimah Shamsudin
Language Academy
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Lesson Feedback

Introduction

The aim of this video is to introduce high school students to the engineering concept of road construction and to the reasons why problems might arise in road construction. Presentation of this concept is made more accessible to students by comparing road construction to the art of baking a layer cake. This simple comparison can serve to emphasize how important it is to follow proper procedures and to use proper materials for successful road construction. The approach used is highly correlated with the common knowledge of baking layer cakes in Malaysia. Students should be able to relate the procedure of baking a layer cake to the importance of following the correct methods of road construction. An understanding of basic statistics is necessary before starting this lesson. This lesson will take almost 60 minutes to complete. During activity breaks, students are required to answer questions and complete assigned tasks related to the subject.

Instructor Biography

Dr Norhidayah Abdul Hassan and Dr Mariyana Aida Ab. Kadir are lecturers at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Dr Sarimah Shamsudin is a lecturer from the Language Academy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The three lecturers are particularly interested in introducing high school students to an educational concept from the construction field and in presenting that concept via multimedia teaching and learning materials. Each of them specializes in her own professional field and is active in research activities in the areas of highway engineering, construction management and language teaching.

Additional Online Resources

Wikipedia: Road surface
This Wikipedia site provides a comprehensive overview and discussion of road surfaces.

Bright Hub Engineering: Why are they Replacing All the Concrete Roads with Asphalt? Ask an Engineer!
This page, sponsored by Bright Hub Engineering, presents an informative comparison of asphalt versus concrete roads.